(Five Years Later)
Nashi was used to wild mornings, but this one was served with a bit of extra chaos. She woke up to find Igneel's large brown eyes glaring at her.
"WaKe uP!" Igneel yelled bouncing on her.
"Noooo," Nashi moaned pushing Igneel off her bed before grabbing her pillow and covering her head with it.
"It's your own birthday, you'd think you'd be more excited! Oh, and did I mention we're waiting for you. Mama won't let me eat breakfast 'till your downstairs!" Igneel cried snatching Nashi's blankets and pulling them off of her, "COME ON! I'M STARVING!"
"Yell again and I'll turn your breakfast into ash," Nashi moaned slowly sitting up.
"Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Igneel demanded, grabbing Nashi's hand and yanking her out of bed.
"Wait... I have to get dressed," Nashi mumbled looking down at her fuzzy Pj's
"NOPE! Food first!" Igneel denied pulling her to her door, leading her down the stairs and into the living room.
"I agree! Fish first!" Happy laughed flying around Nashi.
"Morning Happy," Nashi greeted drowsily.
"Morning princess," a voice laughed as soon as she stepped foot in the dining room and Nashi found herself suddenly being yanked off her feet. She was hoisted over her father's shoulder.
"DAD!" Nashi yelled indignantly.
"Took you long enough, I'm starving," Natsu laughed plopping Nashi down by her chair at the table.
"Mom!" Nashi moaned looking to her mother who was serving everyone breakfast out of the frying pan, "Can you please explain to them the concept of sleep?"
"Nashi, I've been trying for eighteen years," Lucy chuckled.
"Aye sir," Happy agreed floating next to Lucy, "And there isn't a thing she can do about that... or her weight."
BAM
Happy now had the imprint of a frying pan on his face. The blue cat fell to the ground heavily, in shock.
"Don't forget who makes your breakfast, Cat!" Lucy scolded angrily, holding the frying pan threateningly.
"Sorry Luce," Happy croaked from the ground.
"Who cares about sleep?" Igneel joked jumping into his seat "Food is life."
"I hear you!" Natsu laughed fist-bumping Igneel who grinned proudly.
"Aye... Sir," Happy moaned from his place on the floor.
"Get up, you're fine," Lucy sighed stepping over the cat and plopping a fish on his place. The blue cat shot up and flew into his seat eagerly, drooling.
Lucy walked over and kissed Nashi on her head, "Happy Birthday Darling."
"Thanks," Nashi sighed slowly sitting down.
"The big one-five," Natsu grinned from across the table.
Nashi grinned as she began to eat.
"I'm so excited," Igneel ranted, "Everyone made food! We're gonna eat soooo much! Did you know Mrs. Scarlet made her strawberry cake! It's gonna be delicious... I love your birthday's Nashi."
"You like the food," Nashi scowled playfully.
"Yes... BUT it's gonna be so cool when you go through your age ceremony!" Igneel grinned.
Nashi smiled softly.
"I can't wait till I'm a drake," Igneel sighed dejectedly.
"Not yet hatchling, not yet," Natsu chuckled.
"Don't rush it," Lucy scolded, "I mean it was only yesterday when Nashi was toddling around the house blowing fire on everything."
Nashi turned a furious shade of red, "Let's... let's not mention that again today."
"Why not, it was adorable," Natsu grinned, "I remember when she set her stuffed animal on fire and cried about it for three days. I had to beg Aunt Wendy to make her another one."
"DAD!" Nashi threatened her skin beginning to steam. Igneel and Happy giggled.
"Alright," Natsu grinned.
The morning only got more chaotic from there. And the guild... well, the guild was always insane, but when Nashi came in it was like someone had placed a catalyst in an already hyper reaction.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" literally everyone screamed when Nashi walked in.
Nashi grinned and was barraged by hugs, gifts, and food. The food was quickly snatched up by her vulture of a brother but she didn't mind.
As Nashi looked around the room she noticed a few faces missing, namely Lance, her closest friend.
"Dad?" Igneel asked sensing the same thing, "Where's Emma?"
Natsu looked around, "Huh, guess old Metal Head hasn't shown up yet. Don't you worry, Emma'll be here soon."
Nashi sighed and promised herself that she'd never let Lance Redfox hear the end of this. Then she faked confidence and strode deeper into the mass of people. Many adults ruffled her hair, commenting on how she'd grown. Finally, she found someone her age.
"Shiro!" she greeted running up to the white-haired boy. The boy turned with wide eyes and smirked when he saw her.
"Well, well, well, there you are! I couldn't find you in this crowd," Shiro Eucliffe laughed.
"Yeah, but I can't seem to find Lance," Nashi commented.
"That's weird," Shiro frowned, "... but I get his piece of cake right?"
"Shiro," Nashi scolded with a laugh, the boy laughed with her.
"Okay, seriously though. After your initiation, you gotta tell me what happens," he begged.
"No way, you know it's a secret," Nashi smirked.
"Naashi," Shiro whined.
"You sound like Igneel," Nashi sighed rolling her eyes.
"My fifteenth birthday's only nine months and the suspicion is killing me!" he pleaded fake tears running down his face.
"Look, it's top-secret... I couldn't even get Lance to tell me what happens," Nashi sighed, biting her lip.
"Uh-oh. Do I sense the fear of a helpless youngling?" someone hissed before jumping out and grabbing Nashi's shoulders.
Nashi let a little shriek escape her and she quickly whirled around to face Nova Dreyar who was laughing.
"Happy Birthday!" Nova grinned spreading her arms.
"Nova," Nashi breathed.
Shiro was rolling with laughter, "You jumped ten feet in the air!"
"Did not," Nashi scowled.
"Uhh, you totally did," Nova smirked.
Nashi shook her head in exasperation when a thought occurred to her, "Nova! You've gone through initiation!"
"Uh-uh, I had a fifteenth birthday. No initiation for this girl. I'm not a dragon slayer. There was no 'drake initiation' for this girl," Nova denied raising her hands.
"I have to get Lance to tell me," Nashi muttered.
"Dude, you're becoming a dragonelle... It ruins the fun if he tells you," Nova grinned.
Nashi moaned, "I have force Lance to tell me. I can't mess this up."
"Oh, and how are you gonna get Mr. Perfect to break a rule?" Nova scoffed.
"Guilt trip the hell out of him," Nashi grinned. "If he'd ever show up!"
Nova smiled.
"You know, speaking of who should be here, has anyone seen Shido?" Shiro asked.
"I think Dad said Uncle Rogue would show up a little late," Nova recalled.
"Yeah, Uncle Erik is going to too," Nashi agreed.
"Awww man, you mean I gotta wait to chuck cake at Kina," Shiro sighed.
"You really have a death wish," Nova scoffed.
Shiro shrugged.
"YOU LITTLE BRATS!" they heard someone yell.
Igneel then blasted past the three as fast as his legs could carry him, followed closely by the thirteen-year-old Fullbuster twins, the black-haired Silver and the blue-haired Ame. All of them had their hands full of treats from the table. On their heels were Rosemary Scarlet and Rose Vastia who also ran past the three.
"We gotta hide!" Igneel cried desperately.
"NO!" Ame laughed glancing at her brother who grinned and nodded. Their blue eyes sparkled in mischief.
"We need a scapegoat, SIMON!" Silver called.
"What?" a voice from afar called.
The twins immediately darted that way pulling Igneel with them. They weaved between guild members until they found the red-head they were looking for; Simon Scarlet.
"Hey, Simon!" Silver cried.
Simon looked at them, "What's up?"
"Your crazy sister's gonna KILL US!" Igneel cried glancing behind them as the older girls approached.
Simon smirked as he looked at the two girls, "What's going on sis?" The three thieves quickly darted behind the older boy.
"They stole from the food table before everything was ready. And they know we're not supposed to eat until everyone's here," Rose Vastia sighed. Her dark eyes glared at the three younger ones and her white hair made her look even more terrifying. Igneel clung to his snacks while Ame and Silver met her gaze and smirked.
"I mean, if they're hungry, shouldn't they eat?" Simon pondered.
"Simon, I appreciate it, but no," Rosemary stated simply "If they took it because they were hungry we'd understand, but they took it to make trouble." Her red hair matched her brother's but unlike her brother, she did not have their father's red birthmark over her eye.
Silver and Ame sent a panicked glance at Simon. Simon grinned, "Well... I'm sure Igneel took it because he was hungry."
"Trust me, it wasn't Igneel we were chasing," Rose scowled glaring at Silver and Ame, who were now sweating nervously.
"Simon," Ame whined.
"Sorry, I ain't bailing you out of this one," Simone shrugged.
Realizing that their savior had forsaken them, the twins took action. Ame stomped her foot on the floor sending out a small ankle-tall wave of water which Silver immediately froze. This meant that Rosemary, Simon, Rose, and Igneel found themselves with their feet stuck in the ice. The twins with joyous giggles rang out of the guildhall as they made their escape.
"THOSE BRATS!" Rosemary swore as she tried to move her feet.
"I mean... you fall for it every time," Simon sighed not even bothering to try and break free.
Igneel was happily munching on his treats not concerned at all about his feet being frozen, "Am I still in trouble?" he asked.
"I can't unfreeze it," Rose swore her hands glowing a light blue. "I haven't mastered that yet!" There was a flash of pink as the white-haired girl instead used her Maguilty Sense and connected it to the twins. "I can at least make their feet cold too."
Rosemary groaned, "STORM!" she called.
Nashi's head shot up at the sound of that name and she scanned the room. She saw the four kids stuck in the ice, her brother among them, and then sighed. She trudged over and raised her hand which burst into flame. "I got you guys."
"Quickly, the Fullbuster twins are getting away!" Rose urged, pulling her white hair out of her eyes.
Nashi began melting the ice which took longer then anyone wanted.
"I can't go any hotter without risking setting the guild on fire and I'm not doing that on my birthday... I'd never live it down," Nashi scowled.
As soon as they all were free the Rose's shot off out the door, Nashi followed knowing that there'd probably be more ice to melt.
Igneel watched them go as he ate another pastry, and then looked up to Simon, "Thanks for bailing me out."
"No problem little buddy... but you owe me a scone," Simon stated. Igneel quickly handed it over and Simon took it simply.
Nashi, meanwhile, was racing after the Roses who were scanning the streets for the twins.
"All of this, for a few scones?" Nashi asked.
"It's not the scones, it's the principle!" Rosemary snapped.
"Yeah, okay," Nashi scoffed.
"THERE THEY ARE!" Rose yelled grabbing Rosemary's armored shoulder and pointing down the street at the twins who had just darted into an alley.
"Quick!" Rosemary demanded. She burst forward using one of her father's spells, meteor. She couldn't keep the spell up but by the time it faded she was at the mouth of the alley and she had requipped, and was now holding a giant sword.
Nashi and Rose were on her heels and peered into the alley where saw the twins and a very surprised looking Storm Fullbuster, all snacking. Storm was the eldest of the Fullbusters, right around Nashi's age with a head of dark hair and dark eyes, an image of his father.
"Oh... hey Rosemary," Storm greeted.
"I see, you're the mastermind here!" Rosemary scolded.
"What?" Storm asked looking at the scone in his hand. Ame and Silver where grinning smugly as they stuffed their faces.
Rosemary grabbed Storm's coat and began dragging him down the street, "I thought better of you, Storm. I see now you're just as bad as them... worse even! At least they had the nerve to steal in broad daylight!"
"SteAL?" Storm objected clearly confused. He glared at the twins, "What did you two do!?"
The two grinned and went to run away but were snatched by Rose who dragged the two after Rosemary.
"You Fullbusters, I'm going to tell your mother on you!" Rose threatened the twins.
"Oh no, not our mother," Silver mocked.
"How dare you steal food, you hungry child," Ame mimicked, grinning at her brother.
Rosemary's face got red with anger and she was trying to tell herself that punching the twins was not the answer.
"I didn't know they had done something wrong!" Storm objected breaking free of Rosemary's gasp and getting to his feet. He dusted himself off and straightened the blue color of his jacket. "I mean, come on, you know it wasn't like that."
Rosemary crossed her arms, "A likely story, Fullbuster."
"Oh come on Mary," Nashi smiled nervously getting between the two, "Storm wouldn't do that."
Rosemary sighed and then nodded, "I shall believe you this once Storm, don't assist your siblings again."
"Trust me, if they're involved in something, I want nothing to do with it," Storm scoffed.
"Well then, we shall take these trouble makers back to the guild," Rose stated keeping a firm grip on Silver and Ame.
"Stooorrrrmmm," Ame whined.
"You're thirteen-years-old, I'm not saving your skin anymore," Storm scoffed.
"Traitor," Silver snapped.
"Bye!" Storm laughed as the two were dragged back to the guild. Nashi chuckled as she listened to Rosemary begin to rant.
"It's always those two," Nashi sighed.
"Yeah, I don't know what happened to them," Silver sighed which made Nashi laugh. "Oh, and I forgot to say," Storm smiled looking to Nashi. Nashi met his gaze and felt her face flush.
"Happy Birthday," Storm smiled his dark eyes staring into Nashi's.
Nashi immediately looked to the ground, "Thanks," she smiled. She'd known Storm since they were kids, it wasn't that long ago that they were just like the twins, causing all sorts of trouble together. They'd grown since then, matured... somewhat. But there was something else, something that Nashi had never been able to explain, some sort of stupid connection that made her heart panic when Storm smiled and made her face turn red. Now, she called it a crush, but she felt like that word didn't do it justice...
Well... maybe... the crushing awkwardness did the emotion justice.
"You okay?" Storm asked nervously.
"What!? Oh-Yeah! I'm just nervous about this initiation ceremony - a-and being a dragonelle an all!" Nashi smiled nervously.
Before Storm could ask any more questions, there was a musical roar. A roar that both knew.
"Is that - " Storm began.
Then a huge metal dragon flew over them, close to the ground. It made Nashi's pink hair whip wildly, slapping Storm in the face on accident. The dragon got even lower, heading for the guild.
"Uncle Gajeel!" Nashi laughed.
"Not just him," Storm told her, pointing the way that Gajeel had flown from, two more dragons were on the horizon.
"They're all here," Nashi realized swallowing a lump in her throat.
"You sure you're okay?" Storm asked recognizing the face on the girl.
Nashi took a deep breath, "Today, I become a drake. I find out where my place is in our nest, I might even be chosen as an heir... I don't want to mess this up."
"How could you mess this up?" Storm scoffed, "You're a natural at... well, everything. They're just going to make you Natsu's heir."
Nashi's heart froze. Her father's heir? As in the next person to become a dragon Queen?
"No," Nashi denied nervously.
Storm looked surprised, "Why not?"
"Because," Nashi murmured nervously, "That would make me the next Dragon Queen..."
"Your point?" Storm asked.
"Naaaaashi!" someone called - it was Igneel. "Come on!" Igneel called waving frantically. "It's almost time!!!"
Nashi felt her chest grow tight... this was it... once her last uncles arrived... she'd be a drake.
(I know that characters are a little confusing right now but there is a chapter in my Tags and Books book which gives you a small layout for each character, just in case you get confused.
Thanks for reading!! Have a good day/night!)